Shuttle for sewing-machines



(No Model.)

H. A. BATES. SHUTTLE FOR SEWING MACHINES.

No. 522,002. Patented June 26, 1894.

WASHINGTON a c UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY A. BATES, OF Y ONKERS, NEW YORK.

SHUTTLE FOR SEWING-MACHINES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 522,002, dated June 26, 1894'.

Application filed December 1, 1893. Serial No. 492,437. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY A. BATES, a citizen of the United States, residing at Yonkers, in the county of Westchester and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Shuttles for Sewing-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

There are several sewing machines upon the market in which the shuttle has a central pin within the cavity that is adapted to re cei'vea bobbin of metal upon which the thread is wound. Among the machines making use of such a shuttle may be mentioned the Standard sewing machine, the Singer center bobbin, the Wheeler & Wilson, Nos. 11 and 12, and the Tracy sewing machine.

My present improvement is illustrated with reference to the sewing machine shuttle adapted to the Standard sewing machine, but

it is not limited in this particular.

Insewing machines of the character before mentioned, the metal bobbin is rotated as the thread is drawn off and in this rotation the metal is worn, the bobbin becomes loose and frequently turns too far under the action of the thread as pulled off, so that the thread becomes loose within the shuttle. In addi=- tion to this, the metal bobbinoccupies an unnecessary amount of space and prevents the introduction of a greater length of thread in the shuttle.

Efforts have heretofore been made for the introduction of bobbins of thread wound upon paper tubes for allowing an increased length of thread to be introduced into the shuttle and to lessen the wear upon the shuttle itself, but difficulty has been experienced in applying to the thread bobbin the proper friction to produce the desired tension upon the shuttle thread.

My present invention is especially adapted to thread bobbins in which the thread is of pressure with which the spring bears against the end of the thread bobbin tube, hence the detaining friction upon the thread bobbin and consequently the tension upon the shuttle thread can be regulated with accuracy; and it will be observed that this improvement is adapted to the shuttles already on the market andhence can be used with the same by simply substituting a thread bobbin on a paper tube for the metal bobbins heretofore provided and upon which the thread had to be wound separately, and by this improvementIam enabled to save the time consumed in winding the thread upon the metal bobbin and also to regulate with accuracy the tension upon the shuttle thread and thereby produce much better sewing than can be done in machines where'the shuttle thread has not a definite friction applied to the bobbin.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a cross section of a shuttle fitted with the present improvements. Fig. 2 is a side view of the shuttle without the bobbin and bobbin holder. Fig. 3 is an elevation, and Fig. 4 a section of the spring preferably made use of by me. Fig. 5

is an end view, and Fig. 6 a side view of the spring sleeve and Fig. 7 is a section illustrating a modification in the pin and showing the sleeve detached.

The shuttle case A is of any desired size or a cross-bar D at one end to which the pin 0 is attached. In this character of shuttle the bobbin holder D is usually open at the sides of the cross-bar D. I find it advantageous to close this open side by a disk E which is made with a central opening through which passes the pin 0, and the edges of this disk are made sufficiently thin and slightly larger than the interior diameter of the bobbin holder D, in order that this disk E may be pressed into place and will hold by the spring of the edges of the disk, the object of this disk being to furnish a smooth surface for one end of the thread bobbin F to rub against, and such disk E prevents the thread becom ing soiled. The thread of the bobbin F is adapted to be placed within the recess of the shuttle and preferably at the inner end of the pin B, and with thisobject in view the spring I is represented as having a central eye 2 and two bearing points 3, and this central eye 2 fits loosely around the pin B, and the sleeve II is made of comparatively thin sheet metal and adapted to slide over the tubular pin B and remain thereon in any position where it may be placed by the friction of the sleeve upon the central pin.

I have represented the sleeve H as a tube open or slotted at one side so as to form a spring clip around the pin B, but this sleeve may be provided with any frictional device, such for instance as a tongue 0, Fig. 7 cut in the sheet metal for holding the same upon the pin B. This sleeve may be of any desired length. It will now be understood that by adjusting thesleeve H the spring I may be pressed more or=less closely against the side of the shuttle and at the bottom of the cavity for the bobbin, and hence when the thread bobbin F is inserted, its tube G will be :pressed more or less closely against the spring 1 and such spring will apply more or less pressu re to the tube of the thread bobbin according to the position in which the sleeve I-I may be placed. Ifthefriction-is too great, the sleeve II is to be pressed inwardly and thereby force the springInearer tothe side of the shuttle; if the friction upon the thread bobbin is too little, thes'leeve H is to be drawn outwardly to allow the spring Ito expand and press withgreater force against the tube of the=thread bobbin; and it will be observed that where the bobbin of thread is within a cylindrical bobbin holder having an end closed by the disk E, the thread at one end of the bobbin is pressed against the inner surface of the disk and a certain amount of detaining friction is the result to prevent the thread bobbin rotating too freely as the thread is drawn 0% the same. In some kinds of shuttles the disk E will not be required. It will be apparent that if the surface of the central pin 13 were screw-threaded as seen in Fig. 7, the sleeve I-I might be screwed upon the same and the adjustment of the spring effected by the partial rotation of the sleeve H.

It is d-iflicult to wind the thread bobbin with absolute accuracy and the bobbins wound by one manufacturer vary from those of another maker, hence it is of importance to be able to vary the action of the spring friction so as to adapt the same to the slight variations in the bobbins, and this is effected by the adjustment of the sleeve, as aforesaid.

The spring employed by me may beef any suitable shape or material.

I claimas my invention-"- 1. The combination with a sewing machine shuttle having a cavity and a fixed central pin and a thread bobbin, of aspringadapted to apply pressure to the thread bobbin, and a removablesleeve fitting closely by friction around the central pin and within the bobbin and adjustable endwise ofthe pin to compress the spring to a greater or lessextentagainst the interior surface of the shuttle cavity,snbstantially as set forth.

2. The combination with a shuttle having a cavity for the thread bobbin and a central tubular ipin, of a spring within thecavity, a sleeve closely surrounding the tubular pin and held by friction and adjustable lengthwise for compressing. the springto a greater or less extent, a bobbin holder having a pin entering the tubularcen tralpin, and aremovable disk surrounding the pin and coming into contact with the bobbin at theopposite side to the spring, substantially as set forth.

Signed by ine this 29th day of November,

HENRY A. BATES. Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINoKNnY, A. M. OLIVER. 

